In fiction, it's not uncommon to see reptiles being associated with fire. After all, Dragons are often portrayed as reptilian, and it's common knowledge that they breath fire. Plus, Dinosaurs have often been associated with vulcanos and lava, and, being cold-blooded, reptiles are more confortable with warm climates, especially lizards, who like to rest under the sun.

The trope is named after the Salamander, a mythological animal despicted as a fire-breathing lizard or a wingless dragon. Nowaday, the name is given to a real animal who actually isn't a real reptile, but a small amphibian with a lizard-like shape. However, Alchemists would often attribute them mystical proprerties, such as the ability to survive fire, or even extinguish it by the mere coldness or their blood. As a result, the legendary counterpart of the salamander stayed in the memory, and has been raised to the rank of Elemental Embodiment of Fire.
The exact reason for all these stories and the length of times through which they survived is often theorized to be due to a behavior of Real Life Salamanders. Being amphibians, they seek lair in humid locals, like stacks of wood kept outdoors. People would then use that wood to make fires, which would wake the Salamanders and cause them to flee for their lives, leaving people convinced the creatures had been "birthed" by the flames through abiogenesis. As wood remained a primary source of heating for humans till the industrial revolutions, such events, though rare, would keep reoccurring, ensuring that the myths of the fiery Salamander would live on.

Since Reptiles Are Abhorrent, expect a frequent assocation to Demons, Hell Fire and Fire and Brimstone Hell. Exceptions do exist, however: a dragon or dinosaur-themed protagonist can sometimes be associated with fire as a way to reinforce his hot-blooded temper and bravery rather than his evil nature. Those exceptions seem to be especially popular in japanese culture, where the connection of reptiles and dragons with evil isn't as strong as it is in occident.

Note: Fiery Salamander is not to be confused with real life Salamanders which are actually amphibians that live in and around water. Also, this trope applies to reptiles and reptile-like beings as a whole, not just Salamanders.

The 1970s Super Friends tie-in comic book featured a team of four elemental superheroes; the fire-powered member was called Salamander, and got his powers because he was possessed by a mythological salamander.

Literature

Some salamanders show up in Harry Potter, enjoying the roaring blaze they're in.

On the Discworld, Salamanders are creatures that absorb sunlight and store it in a special organ, then release it in a bright burst to scare predators. They've thus been adopted for use as flashbulbs in photography.

In The Obsidian Trilogy, these and other elemental creatures sometimes make brief appearances when casting spells with High Magick. The High Mages teach that they're illusory, but an exiled High Mage discovers they're real, and can be negotiated with.

Some books in the Redwall series feature the Mountain of Fire Lizards named Salamandastron.

The Seraphim, of all people. Some abrahamic despictions of the Angels distinctly despict them as dragon/serpent-like (their name is a corruption of "sarap", "fiery", more often than not connected with the word "nahash", "serpent") and associated with Fire.

Tabletop Games

Warhammer 40K: Salamanders feature heavily in the mythology of the Salamanders Chapter of Space Marines, which has a big fire/forging image. They are large lizards, some of which can breathe fire, and aspiring recruits must defeat themin combat.

the salamander is a lizard-like humanoid from the Elemental Plane of Fire that prefers to live in temperatures of 500 degrees or more.

The Fire Lizard is a large (30 feet long) lizard that is immune to fire and can breathe out a large (15 feet long) puff of fire from its mouth.

Fire Newts are reptilian humanoids (similar to Lizard Men) that can breathe fire up to five feet away.

Role Aids supplement Monsters of Myth and Legend III. The Egyptian deity Apophis could take the form of either a giant snake with a human head or a huge crocodile. Twenty times per day he could breath out a 120 degree wide 75 foot long cone of fire that did 10-60 Hit Points of damage.

Deities and Demigods Cyclopedia Egyptian mythos.

The deity Apep has the form of a giant snake. Once every two minutes he could breathe out a 100 foot long by 40 foot wide cone of flame that does 6-60 Hit Points of damage.

The Flame Snake appeared to be a small harmless grass snake, but five times per day it could breathe out a burst of fire 30 feet long that inflicted 15 Hit Points of damage.

Shadowrun has Salamanders, magical beings who look like a ball of fire with flames dancing around it. No one is sure what their motivations are or if they even are sapient, but rumor has it that some humans can seal a pact with them.

In War Craft III, Salamanders are gigantic, fire-breathing, stegosaur-like lizards that live underground.

Golden Sun: The first game's salamanders are small, dragonlike lizards. The sequel adds the Avimander boss and the Palette Swap enemies Macetail and Bombmander, which are bigger, stockier, and have a morningstar-like tail.

In the old game Empire of the Overmind, it was possible to summon a small fiery salamander to provide light with the command "Call Pyro".

The Nebulous Criminal Conspiracy calling themselves "Salamandra" in The Witcher is led by a mage specializing in fire magic, and many of their other mages specialize in fiery magic, too, probably giving the organization its name.

In the NES game The Battle of Olympus, the player gains protection from enemies' fireballs by collecting salamander skins and paying a weaponsmith to wrap his wooden shield in them.

Web Comics

In Gunnerkrigg Court, when Antimony helps a boy in Good Hope Hospital pass on, the fire that killed him and his family is represented by a salamander until Antimony realises what happened.

French king Francis I had salamanders as his personal emblem. The creature was portrayed as a wingless dragon breathing fire.

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